So, Oscar had his pre-school boosters yesterday and I've been worrying about it so much! I wasn't as worried about vaccinations when he had his baby ones as I knew he'd forget about them but because he's older and knows what's happening, it just seemed so much harder! It's awful as a parent to watch them cry real tears :(
I didn't tell Oscar we were going to the doctors until the morning of as I didn't want him worrying all night. And when I did tell him, he kept saying he didn't want to go and he only wants the nose one (The flu nasal spray!) I hadn't told him we were going for a jab, just that we were seeing the lovely nurses again to have a check up. He's got a doctors play set which he plays with quite a lot and loves to give daddy and myself check ups!
Anyway, the nurse called us in and I felt so anxious as I knew what was coming and Oscar didn't. He was so happy bless him and then they said to me it's an injection in each arm! Oh gosh, I felt like the worst mum in the world. I sat Oscar on my lap and they directed me on where to put my arms and hands. It was like cuddling him but keeping his arm from not moving! The first one went in! Ok, not so bad, a big laugh came out of Oscar's mouth?! I was shocked and was not expecting it but I spoke too soon and the cry came soon after! Talk about delayed reactions ha! The nurse then moved round to the other side and said this one would sting more. Great. But he was fine! He soon stopped crying when the nurse offered him a sticker! And when he was choosing, I noticed he kept checking over his shoulder to make sure the other nurse wasn't going to jab him again!
All done. I kept telling him what a brave boy he'd been and I said I'd treat him to something from the shop too (Did you notice his cool yellow monster truck in the top photo?) I also kept giving him cuddles so he felt safe! But I could tell he was trying to fight back the tears and was putting on a brave face! And every time I picked him up, he kept saying 'please don't hurt my arms' :( But that's it now until he's between 13-18yrs according to his red book! I was explaining to him last night before bed how I had to have a big injection in my arm when he was in my tummy and then another big one again when he came out of my tummy. I then told him about his Auntie and how brave she was when her baby was in her tummy and how she overcame her fears through pregnancy and birth so she could be a mummy and have her own little baby girl to look after. He was amazed.
It got me thinking though, is there ways that you can prepare your child for this? I thought I'd google the topic to see if there's anything about that they'd understand and thought I'd share with you what I had found incase anyone is worrying about this too!
I came across a book that I wish I'd known about as we have one in the same range and it's lovely! The book is called 'We're Going To The Doctor: Preparing For A Check-up (Big Steps)' by Campbell Books and it has a part in about having an injection. There's quite a few in the range too including 'No More Nappies: A Potty Training Book (Big Steps)' which I've just ordered!
There's also a clip called 'How do injections help us' from the Cbeebies program 'Get Well Soon' with Dr Ranj. Link is here if you'd like to see. I've showed it to Oscar since so he could have a bit more of an understanding about why he had to have them and he loved it. He look very interested and kept smiling and the song at the end was a hit haha! There's also lots of different web pages with some helpful advice! For instance, someone said to tell your child they will give them super powers! How brilliant is that?! But seriously, do they? Haha!
I definitely wish I had thought about googling this beforehand. Mum fail right here but hopefully I can help someone else with just this small bit of information.
Daisy x
